distance learning

Spotty Internet Makes Distance Learning Hard in Rural Areas

Many Latino families do not have internet access and although school officials are trying to provide students with the necessary resources, the signal in some remote areas is not enough

NBC Universal, Inc.

Being away from school has been a challenge for dozens of families, especially for communities that often lack the resources to conduct classes online.

Many Latino families do not have internet access and although the school officials are trying to provide students with the necessary resources, the signal in some remote areas is not enough.

In Borrego Springs, the digital divide sits even more in this rural area of San Diego County. Borrego Springs is about 90 miles from downtown San Diego with a population of about 3,500 people. About 15 miles away from Ocotillo Wells.

Roosters sing there and there are shortages of communication towers, which makes connecting to the internet almost impossible.

Celia Hernandez, a resident of Ocotillo, told Telemundo 20 that she has "had quite a few difficulties" because of the lack of signal.

Sandy is a mother of two, one 11-year-old, and one 13-year-old, and said they didn't have internet initially. Which has been difficult for her children.

Damian Gragillas is an eighth grader and said he has trouble connecting to class often and his teacher doesn't understand him because communication is so low that he starts "talking like a robot."

Classes in the Borrego Springs School District are empty.

Plexiglass was installed and the desks are separated, but they still cannot return to the classroom and must live with a digital divide.

Mark Stevens, the superintendent of the Borrego Springs School District, said that although many parents do not have "internet in their homes," they are doing their best to improve the connection.

New communication towers installed by Geolinks, at no cost, is a promising innovation.

Still, for Gragillas, the connection is not enough. You must keep moving with the portable internet in his hand "looking for the signal" to manage to connect to his class and do his homework.

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